Greetings from St Bede’s College.

We are over half way through this winter term and as the weather worsens, so does the health of many boys and staff. As I said at assembly yesterday, students and staff need to be a bit patient with each other. There is a virulent flu this winter also, which people are succumbing to, so some boys may need a day or two off to make sure they recover.

News has come through that the rostering home for Year 10 students has been cancelled for next week, so therefore all the students should be at school next week. We will keep you informed about progress regarding the other rolling strikes and any subsequent action.

The highlight of assembly was the re-delivery of a speech by one of our learning support stalwarts, Dean Williamson (Year 13). Dean is seriously challenged in his learning but despite this, he entered in a speech competition organized by Hohepa Canterbury and Rotary Club of Lincoln and was awarded the Best Speaker.

The title of the speech was "Why I like living in Aotearoa New Zealand" which follows.

Until next week.

Justin Boyle

Dean Williamson (Y13)
Why I like living in Aotearoa New Zealand

"Tena Koutou, Tena koutou, Tena Koutou Kia ora. My name is Dean Williamson and today I will be talking aboot why I like living in Aotearoa New Zealand. There are in fact many reasons why I like living in this country which I will share with you and trust me, there were a lot of reasons to choose from. Firstly, I love music and I am immensely proud of some of our favourite New Zealand musicians. I like Opshop, Exponents, Head like a Hole, Dave Dobbyn, the Finn brothers and just aboot every New Zealand musician you can think of. I like fish and chips and pavlova. I like Rugby and the haka. I like the beach and the BBQ, and I like the famous Rock Radio station. But most importantly of all, ALL of these things have one thing in common…………. they make New Zealand an awesome place to live in for myself and my fellow New Zealanders.

I am sure that you will all agree that New Zealand is home to many talented people and let me tell you there were a lot to choose from. One of my favourite talented people is Opshop led by Jason Kerrison, a true Bedean and Cantabrian lad. They released such hits as “No Ordinary Thing”, “Maybe”, and “One Day,” just to name a few. Now the latter song is the final track to their sophomore album “Second Hand Planet.” I listen to it a lot and it’s one of the reasons why I like living in New Zealand because we are the home to some of the best music in the world. Another talented New Zealand group is Head Like A Hole. They are named after the Nine Inch Nails song which is the opening track to their debut album “Pretty Hate Machine.” They released such hits as “Cornbag”, “Wet Rubber” “Hootenanny” and the Bruce Springsteen cover “I’m on Fire” just to name a few. Whether you prefer the Bruce Springsteen version or the Head like a hole cover you just can’t deny its legacy. Another talented New Zealand duo is brothers Neil and Tim Finn. They were in the band Crowded house probably best known for their song “Better Be Home Soon” the final track to their sophomore album called “Temple of Low Men” These New Zealand rock bands make me feel proud of my country because they have given us so much joy through their music.

I like living in New Zealand because I like the people of New Zealand (more commonly known as Kiwis if you will) and there’s a lot of different nationalities that make up our awesome country. The population of New Zealand is close to 5 million people and every one of these people are unique. I like living in New Zealand because we embrace different cultures and make everyone feel welcome in our country. It makes me feel proud whenever I see the All Blacks do the haka as to me it represents New Zealand. Sadly, there was a Muslim mosque shooting in Christchurch recently and the people of New Zealand have reacted with sympathy, love and respect for the Muslim community. It’s pretty unique and what makes our country so special and that’s why I love living in Aotearoa, New Zealand and I am proud to be a New Zealander.

I also like living in New Zealand because the people are so friendly. It’s not uncommon to walk down the street and people who you don’t even know you, give you a friendly nod of the head or greet you with “Hey Mate.”

I like living in Aotearoa, New Zealand, because of our beautiful scenery and wide-open spaces. I really love the beach on a warm summer day because you get to ride the waves on a surfboard. The water is crystal clean and not polluted like in other parts of the world and the beach is not crowded. There is room for everyone to enjoy themselves. The West Coast of New Zealand has some of the best scenery in the world with cascading waterfalls and beautiful forests. The forests are home to all native species of New Zealand birds such as Pukeko and Kiwi.

I like living in New Zealand because I like the summer holidays at the beach with my family. My favourite spot is Mapua because they have a wharf which you can jump from into the sea. The water is nice and warm, and I love the smell of the pine trees that line the waterfront. I take the ferry over to the island where there’s a lot of cool walking tracks. There’s also a fish and chip shop that has the best fish and chips in New Zealand. The fish is so fresh you’d almost think it had jumped out of the ocean and into the deep fryer.

I like listening to the Rock Radio station because it is home to probably New Zealand’s greatest countdown the Rock 1500. So how did it become the Rock 1500 you might ask? Well the producers decided to increase it by 50% and that’s when the Rock 1500 was born. The song that stands out to me is Metallica’s “One” the song that I want to see come at number one this year… which I predict will probably never happen but, you know, one can always dream.

I like living in Aotearoa, New Zealand because it is home to the BBQ. There is nothing better than to celebrate a hot summer day with a sausage sizzle. In fact, it would be fair to say that there is nothing more satisfying than biting into a sausage and letting our famous Wattie’s BBQ sauce ooze down your chin. This is New Zealand and what is not to like abooot that I ask?

I like living in Aotearoa, New Zealand because it is home to the pavlova a traditional Kiwi dessert with whipped cream although the Australians have now claimed it was their dessert. Fat chance!!!!

I like living in Aotearoa, New Zealand because it is the birthplace of probably one of the greatest Kiwi singers of all time, Dave Dobbyn. He was in the bands DD Smash and Th’ Dudes. Some of his well-known songs were “Welcome Home”, “Loyal” and the classic “Slice of Heaven.” The latter was awarded the best song of 1986. And I agree with Dave Dobbyn, that New Zealand, is indeed a “slice of heaven on earth”.

And so, in conclusion, I would just like to say that I Dean Williamson, like living in New Zealand because I believe it’s the best country in the world for a teenager to grow up in. I’m sure that each and every one of you here today will agree with me that we are all very privileged to live in this wonderful country. Thank you."